Generation of Quorum Quenching Antibodies

The exchange of information within and among bacterial populations using small diffusible molecules has been termed “quorum sensing” (QS). Due to the extracellular distribution of the QS autoinducer molecules and the evolutionary highly conserved nature of signaling components, microbial QS systems represent an excellent target for anti-infective immunotherapy. Recently, we have described the generation of quorum quenching monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against acyl homoserine lactones (AHL) used by Pseudomonas aeruginosa as well as Staphylococcal autoinducing peptides (AIP). These mAbs suppressed QS signaling in bacteria and neutralized AHL-mediated cytotoxic effects in vitro, as well as protected animals in Staphylococcus aureus infection models.